"He can run pretty fast, but Sallie beat him," spoke Rick.
"Some day we'll take your dog out in the woods and have him chase rabbits," went on Chot. "If he's a hunting dog, and I guess he is, he can catch rabbits."
"I wouldn't want him to hurt any rabbits," spoke Rick. "I used to have some rabbits, once, but I let 'em loose in the woods back of the lake, and maybe they're living there yet. I wouldn't want Ruddy to chase any of the rabbits that I used to have for pets."
"No, course we wouldn't 'zactly want Ruddy to hurt any rabbits," agreed Chot. "But we could just watch him run after 'em, same as he ran after Sallie. Your dog'll be a good hunter when he grows up. Where'd you get him?"
"Oh, he just sort of came," answered Rick. "Mr. Bailey saw him swim ashore in the storm last night."
"Well, he's a good dog," declared Chot, patting Ruddy on the head. The dog was dividing his time, now, between barking at the cat and leaping about the boys. He had made friends with Chot almost at once.
"Come on," said Chot, after a while. "This is no fun. That cat won't come down as long as we stay here."
"What'll we do?" asked Rick, who, to tell the truth, was glad his dog had not caught Sallie.
"Let's have your dog chase sticks," suggested Chot.
"Yes, that'll be fun!" agreed Rick.